YORK, Pa. -- BAE Systems has received delivery orders from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command worth $170 million to produce 32 U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Armored Utility Vehicles (AUV) and provide major upgrades to existing vehicles.

The U.S. SOCOM AUV is one of several Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) variants based on the RG33 family of vehicles.

To date, BAE Systems has produced nearly 350 SOCOM MRAP vehicles. In total, BAE Systems has produced more than 6,400 MRAP vehicles to support urgent needs in Iraq and Afghanistan and through nearly $5 billion in contract awards for the production and service of MRAP vehicles to date.

Upgrades will be performed on nearly 250 SOCOM vehicles to incorporate new independent suspension systems and other design improvements to ensure superior mobility and performance over rocky and steep terrain. This works demonstrates how BAE Systems’ support and service capabilities are meeting the current and future requirements to protect troops during combat missions.

"Upgrading the vehicles will provide our forces with the latest vehicle enhancements," said Ann Hoholick, vice president and general manager of New Vehicles and Amphibious Systems for BAE Systems. "We will produce 32 new vehicles with the improvements already built-in, so the entire fleet of SOCOM vehicles will be fully modernized and upgraded.”

The MRAP SOCOM vehicles are comprised of several unique features designed to meet the robust requirements of the Special Operations Command, including a remote weapon station, swing arm mount and a rear door assist.

Production preparations for the new vehicles is beginning at BAE Systems facilities in York, Pennsylvania; Fairfield, Ohio; and Aiken, South Carolina, and at Spartan Motors Chassis' facility in Charlotte, Michigan. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in March 2011 and run through July 2011.

BAE Systems has built more than 2,200 RG33 MRAP vehicles to date that incorporate eight different variants, all of which have been successfully fielded in combat zones across the globe. The unique adaptability of the base vehicle’s design has allowed for variants to include a Heavy Armored Ground Ambulance and an Armored Utility Vehicle.

BAE Systems
03.08.2010